DE 10 2008 023 776 A1 discloses a treatment machine for bottles or similar containers, having a rotor or revolving main star on which a number of treatment stations are arranged. To implement the support of the main star with sufficient stability and at a reduced cost, DE 10 2008 023 776 A1 proposes to support the rotor by means of a number of rollers that are arranged distributed about the machine axis and form the bearing support arrangement.
GB 2 187 720 A also discloses a container treatment system. For example, GB 2 187 720 A discloses a capper which has a star wheel with corresponding holding devices. On transport pockets, a removable insert is arranged which has a virtually V-shaped opening and which, at one of its flanks, has a tooth system which is brought into frictional engagement with the bottle. It is thus claimed that the bottle, during capping, can be held with a screw cap without the bottle also rotating.
DE 697 28 396 T2 deals with a processing machine, for example with a labelling machine. It has a star wheel on which labelling devices are arranged. The star wheel can be supplied with containers via a loading device or via a feed star wheel (sliding star). The loading device is designed as a grinding or sliding star wheel which has correspondingly designed tooth pockets (holding device). The sawtooth star wheel places the bottles, which are accelerated by an infeed plate, at pitch.
DE 10 2008 022 705 A1 discloses that the incoming bottles partly begin to dance and may vary the desired pitch, so that destruction can occur, for example at the gripper arms of the grippers provided for the bottles. To thus achieve passive, accurate centring or fixing of the incoming bottle in the sawtooth star while simultaneously calming the bottles' proper motion, DE 10 2008 022 705 A1 proposes to arrange a spring-loaded blade element at each sawtooth section on the side of the sawtooth section opposite the approximately radially oriented contact edge. This measure has proven its worth in practice, so that the bottle neck is accurately pushed into the leading edge of the sawtooth section, automatically resulting in accurate compliance with the pitch distances. At the same time, any dancing or vibrating bottle is calmed in its movement by this firmer fixation.
Therefore, aforementioned treatment machines are known in different versions, e.g. as filling machines, labelling machines, inspection machines or rinsers. Aforementioned containers can, for example, be used as bottles for liquids, e.g. for beverages. The containers, e.g. bottles, can consist of a transparent or translucent material, for example of glass or of a translucent plastic, e.g. PET. However, it is also conceivable that the containers consist of other materials and can be filled with other products. Usually the containers, therefore also PET bottles, have a so-called neck ring with which the bottles can be transported. In case the treatment machine is designed as a capper, the filled, as yet non-closed bottles are transported with sliding stars from the filler to the capper, but also conveyed with the infeed star or with the sliding star to the main carousel. The sliding stars have pockets into which the bottles can be inserted. Insofar, the sliding stars can also be called sawtooth stars, which have already been mentioned and acknowledged above. The sliding star thus reaches, with its pocket edge, under the neck ring. The transport pocket therefore is part of a holding device. Opposite this, a supporting curve is provided which also reaches under the neck ring and on which the bottles can slide off in the transport direction.
For logical reasons, the individual components are adaptably matched. Hence, the individual components are adjustable to some extent, to thus be able to compensate, for example deviations of the neck ring which can also have different dimensions for different bottle runs. This, however, requires adjustments which still cause some production interruption. Moreover, there is a desire to reduce the neck ring, due to the need to save material, not only in its material thickness but also in its radial extension. This desire can reach the point that the above-mentioned compensation options of the components no longer suffice, so that the neck ring no longer has enough support and threatens to drop between the supporting curve and the transport pocket of the sliding star. But it is also possible, for example, that the circumference of the main star of the filler changes due to the laws of physics, which especially affects the operational safety at the handover from/to the sliding star. In particular, the heat expansion of filler carousels leads to the pitch diameter changing by several millimetres (e.g. cold filling at 6° C.; hot filling at 90° C.). But also the normal operational heating of the carousels changes the handover situation and requires regular settings or adjustments of the bottle handovers, which must be precisely matched to the duty point/operating temperature. After all, faults can occur with handover dimensions that are both too large and too small, these being of course unwanted.